Proton therapy centre utilising one of most advanced techniques in cancer treatment moves another step closer in Malaga

The municipal urban planning department of Malaga city council has granted planning permission for the refurbishment and extension of Hospital Materno with the construction of a building for a proton therapy centre. The new facility will use one of the most advanced radiotherapies available for treating cancer. The latest development was the public tender for drafting the basic and execution projects in February 2024, which, judging by the granting of the permit, have now been completed.

Proton therapy allows "a more localised release of the applied radiation, which results in a better distribution of the dose and less radiation to the surrounding healthy tissue". This reduces late adverse effects on the organs and tissues surrounding the tumour, as well as the risk of subsequent development of other tumours, which is particularly relevant for children, as they have a longer life expectancy.

The proton equipment that Hospital Materno will receive is the IBA Proteus One, donated to Andalucía by the Amancio Ortega foundation. It will be mainly used to treat cancer in children and adolescents. The other equipment donated by the foundation will go to Hospital Militar in Seville.

As SUR revealed in November 2021, the project will involve an investment of more than 60 million euros, co-financed by the Amancio Ortega foundation (52 million euros) and the Andalusian regional government (10 million). The Junta has stated that, although the equipment will be located in Andalucía, patients from Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Ceuta and Melilla will also be referred to Malaga's proton therapy centre. In addition, patients from other EU countries will also have access to it.

The Materno Infantil stands out for its strategic location, as it will be internally connected through buildings belonging to Hospital Civil and Malaga's third hospital, which is yet to be built.

The new equipment requires the construction of a bunker. The proton therapy centre will be located on a plot of land outside Materno Infantil, next to the paediatric emergency room - specifically, at the northeastern end of the adjoining lot and also on top of the building on the basement level (floor -1) that is used for tomotherapy.

The building includes a large, three-storey-high bunker, "located at the level of floor -2, reaching the level of the ground floor and next to the new tomotherapy building". In addition to the bunker, other adjacent spaces such as waiting rooms, auxiliary service areas, offices, etc. will be fitted out, all of them located on floors -2, -1 and ground floor, but also extending over the tomotherapy building on floor -1, occupying the ground and first floors of this building. The centre will complement the oncology unit.

The proton therapy device is part of a donation of 280 million euros from the Amancio Ortega foundation to the Ministry of Health for the purchase of ten proton therapy devices, which will be distributed to the Basque Country (one in Vizcaya), Catalonia (two in Barcelona), Galicia (one in A Coruña), Andalucía (one in Seville and one in Malaga), Valencia (one in Valencia), Madrid (two in the capital) and the Canary Islands (one in Gran Canaria).

The contract for the drafting of these projects was put out to tender for 831,443.56 euros, although the details of the design, the specific investment, the construction schedule and the start dates are not known yet. However, estimates point to everything being completed within six months.